The Best Things To Do In San Diego This Summer

San Diego summertime – it’s what this city was made for. Beaches and bikinis and surfboards and outdoor dining and rooftop bars and late sunsets and early morning walks and oh my god why is it so cold and foggy here in June. Summer in San Diego is when people head to the water and away from the east, unless you are headed to the mountains. The sunsets get later and later and the water gets warmer and warmer and then at some point in October, when all the tourists have gone home, it hits something like perfection. Get your beach body ready, or don’t (we never have), and be patient. Summer doesn’t hit until… well you know the saying.

Below is our list of the best spots for summertime in the city – part of our larger guide of things to do in San Diego.

The Summertime Spots

The Pool At Lafayette Hotel

The pool at the Lafayette Hotel is a scene, that’s for sure. The hotel itself was completely remodeled in 2023 and part of their focus was on bringing the outdoor pool and accompanying cocktail bar back to its SoCal 1940s Hollywood heyday when famous actors came to this hotel to drink cocktails and have affairs in private. There is a distinctly retro and elegant vibe to the pool and poolside bar, with cabanas, decorative lounge chairs, and occasional live music. Despite all the opulence, this place is still family-friendly and there are always a few kids playing about.

Wonderland Ocean Pub In Ocean Beach

Located in Ocean Beach, Wonderland Ocean Pub is where you should go for drinks with an ocean view. The vibe at Wonderland Ocean Pub is bustling, loud, and very sociable. Solo bar patrons are welcome, but just be ready for your neighbor to strike up a friendly convo with you.

Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten

Eppig Brewing Waterfront Biergarten is a lovely open space brewery with outdoor seating on San Diego Bay in Point Loma. The location is large and spacious and perfect for a sunny day when you want fresh air and to sit by the water. Go with a large group or alone and bring a book – this is a beautiful location that serves good beer from the last Eppig location standing.

Torrey Pines State Beach

Torrey Pines State Beach is a wide stretch of beach from Torrey Pines State Reserve in the south to Del Mar in the north and is one of the more underrated places to spend a beach day in San Diego. The water here is clean and warm and the beach is nice and sandy all the way out. There is minimal kelp, like some of the other beaches, and probably the best part is the inlet of Los Pensaquitos Creek leading into the lagoon that is a nice calm place to swim and snorkel during high tide. The views up and down the beach are lovely with the massive cliffs of Torrey Pines State Reserve to the south. The main parking is in the North Beach lot, though there is competitive parking right on the beach, along Highway 101, and then in the South Beach lot closer to the state park.

Happy Medium

Happy Medium in North Park is part cocktail bar, part lunch spot. Outdoorsy and breezy – they have cocktails called Porch Pounders that are a bit too easy down the hatch. It’s a solid go to for lunch and a drink or just post up at the bar and watch a Padres game.

Nat At Night In Balboa Park

The Nat at Night is held every Friday during the summer beginning the end of May until October. It starts at 5pm and ends at 10pm, and admission is half-off. All four floors and exhibits are open for exploration – our favorite ones include the Expedition Baja (currently on view), the Fossil Mysteries (always on view), and the Skulls exhibit (always on view). If you need a change of pace from the museum observations, they have trivia in the main atrium at 7PM. On the third Friday’s of the month, a business called SketchParty sets up a station where they cover tables with paper and provide coloring and drawing materials for everyone to make some art inspired by the museum exhibits.

Paddle Boarding In Mission Bay

Paddle boarding in San Diego is about as quintessential as it gets – sun, water, boards, tans. Mission Bay is a large, almost entirely manmade “aquatic park” (the city filled in what was marshland and made little islands and resorts around it) attached to the ocean by a canal between OB and Mission Beach. The bay water is calm so perfect for paddle boarding. However, the bay water is not particularly healthy.

Mujeres Brew House

Sitting just behind Bread and Salt, one of the best art galleries in San Diego, is Mujeres Brew House, one of the best breweries in San Diego. This quiet corner on Julian Ave packs a punch. Mujeres is a female-owned, all-female run brewery that opened five years ago and has flourished since then, becoming a go to destination in Barrio Logan. They are known for their Mexican-style beers and seltzer cocktails, but if you’re here you should probably just get a michelada and call it a day.

Panama 66

Panama 66 is hands down one of the best restaurants in all of San Diego. Located just behind the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, Panama 66 is a huge outdoor restaurant that has nightly live music (typically jazz or Latin), a large grass lawn and sculpture garden, an amazing beer menu, great cocktails, and delicious food. The place is a well-known gem to locals and always has a bustling vibe, though it is never too busy to get a seat and it is casual enough that you will always find families with kids hanging out. It is a great spot to come after a day touring the museums or after a day at the zoo. On Wednesday night they have a more formal jazz night inside the auditorium attached to the restaurant where local musicians come to play. The place is art through and through and is one of our favorite spots in the city.

Pacific Beach Boardwalk

Running along the sand parallel to the ocean in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach is a three mile long boardwalk, the Pacific Beach Boardwalk, and cruising this strip is one of the best things to do in the summer in San Diego. Come to the Pacific Beach boardwalk for a stroll, or a bike ride, or a roller blade, or a skateboard, or ride your unicycle, or your hoverboard, or your tandem bicycle with a clown horn on the front. The whole strip is straight and wide and flat and always has a lot of eclectic human activity happening along it.

Windansea Beach

Windansea Beach is a rocky coastline in La Jolla (with some sandy beach at low tide) that is most famous as being an early surf break when SoCal surf culture, and therefore mainland American surf culture, was in its infancy. Windansea is a lovely stretch of picturesque rocks (not a wide sandy beach) that is perfect for a picnic or watching sunset.

Mitch’s Seafood

Mitch’s Seafood is a casual seafood restaurant on the wharf in Point Loma. They serve fresh seafood based on the days catch, cooked or served up pretty much any way that seafood can be served. Mitch’s has become and institution in San Diego and if you want to eat good seafood here, this is the place to go. Order at the register and grab a table or stool seat out on the patio. Mitch’s is great for a summertime meal by the water (though it is usually pretty packed).

Ocean Beach Bonfire

Having a beach bonfire is one of the best free things you can do in San Diego. Fires on the beach are legal in San Diego County, but must be in a designated city fire pit. You can have a propane-fueled device, similar to the parks, but this does not really provide the atmosphere you want for a nighttime bonfire, so buy some wood from one of the local convenient stores (they all have it) and pit it up. Ocean Beach has several fire pits just south of Lifeguard Tower 5. You can park in the Dog Beach parking lot and the pits are straight out by the water, past the volleyball courts. Once the sun begins to set, start the fire and watch the twinkling lights of La Jolla brighten the hillside just up the coast to the north.

The Rady Shell

Have you even been to the Rady Shell? As San Diego’s premier outdoor venue – and serving as an architectural masterpiece – the Rady Shell in Jacob’s Park is where you want to be for outdoor concerts overlooking the beautiful San Diego waterfront. Housing the San Diego Symphony, this venue hosts everything from classical concerts, The Marvel Cinematic Universe scores played in sync with the movies, local and national rock bands, outdoor yoga events, and even Weird Al Yankovich (we gotta keep it weird, just a little). Seating ranges from right up front with seats and a table, to single folding chair seats, and the lawn seats in the back where you can bring your own blankets and gear to relax. Food and beverages are not allowed (but you can bring a bag…filled with, not those things).

Sunset Cliffs

Sunset Cliffs is a stretch of coastline south of Ocean Beach that offers some of the most stunning views in all of San Diego County. The cliffs start around Adair Boulevard in OB and run south all the way to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. The shorefront and cliffs continue south of that all the way to Cabrillo National Monument on the southernmost tip of Point Loma, but the land south of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is private (military, college). It is great for a casual walk with the family or the dog, or a solo walk alone to contemplate life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.

Kate Sessions Park

There are many, many lovely green areas in San Diego and many, many places with beautiful views, but Kate Sessions Park in Pacific Beach combines both, which makes it probably the best place to have a picnic in all of San Diego County. Bring a blanket or chairs, pack your own food or bring a portable grill to cook out (it is legal, just try not to set your fellow park-goers on fire), and find a spot at the top of the hill. The view is spectacular – you will see all of Mission Bay, downtown San Diego, Coronado, and on a clear day south all the way to Mexico.

South Beach Bar & Grille

South Beach Bar & Grille is a laid back sports bar and fish taco joint at the end of Newport Ave in OB. It is a locally loved and historic spot (started in 1992 which is historic in California) that serves fish tacos and has lots of seating with lovely views of the ocean. It is great for a beer and casual food at the end of a beach day in OB. Snag a spot at the railing facing west for the best seats in the house. No reservations needed

Piazza Della Famiglia In Little Italy

Piazza Della Famiglia has as close to a town square vibe as you will get in San Diego and if you squint it almost feels like you are in a rustic Italian piazza. The piazza almost always has something going on, from pop-up performers to scheduled live music to art walks. Couples can sit and enjoy a drink and people watch. Kids can run around the square and play on the fountain or try to trick a mime into moving. Old people can play dominos with each other.

Juan Jasper Kitchen & Wine

Juan Jasper Kitchen & Wine is one the most romantic restaurant in San Diego. Located in Golden Hill, this a tiny wine bar and restaurant that serves delicious food and wine to match. The space itself is very small, with only a few tables and a communal seating bar outside, so be ready to be friendly with your neighbors. Juan Jasper feels more like having a meal at a friends house, if your friend was a rich Spanish gentry who knew a lot about wine, was an amazing chef, and an even better host.

Palomar Mountain State Park

Palomar Mountain is covered almost entirely in coniferous forest. If you remember anything from your high school ecology class – that means it is covered in Christmas trees. Palomar Mountain State Park can feel almost like the Sierras in places with towering pines and fir trees and this makes it a unique getaway in SoCal.

Silver Strand Bikeway In Coronado

On any given sunny day in San Diego, which is most days of the year outside of May and June, a bike ride is one of the best things you can do with your time. And if you want to experience one of the most scenic bicycle routes in San Diego, the trip around Coronado Island is about as good as you can get. Your best option is either bring your own bike across the ferry or rent a bike from Holland’s Bicycles at the ferry landing on Coronado. Single bikes are $40. It is $50 for a bike with a child seat. This entire path is flat so it is a perfect leisurely ride for all of us casual bikers out there.

Mission Bay Golf Course

Mission Bay Golf Course is a public course that is great for beginners or a casual round of golf. The course is 18 holes and they have a massive driving range alongside chipping and putting greens. Most holes at Mission Bay are par 3 and it can turn into a missile range with all the short holes aimed at each other and many beginners out there, but that is half the fun of it.

Oscars Mexican Seafood

Oscars Mexican Seafood has been churning out some of the best fish tacos in San Diego for years now. They serve some of the best mariscos in San Diego since their opening in 2011. In addition to their Ensenada-style fish tacos, Oscars serves a delicious smoked fish in any variation you want – on a taco, in ceviche (our favorite), or on a torta. They serve a couple other street tacos, like carne asada and skirt steak, but we tend to stick to the seafood here. Make sure to add your own hot sauce (in the refrigerator or on the tables) before you leave.

Mount Laguna Recreation Area

Mount Laguna Recreation Area is a rebuttal to those who say San Diego is just a beach town. Less than hour away, this alpine sanctuary is nestled within the Cleveland National Forest just west of Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Mount Laguna has lush forests, mountain peaks, and meadows where you can hike, car camp, mountain bike, backpack, and easily access the Pacific Crest Trail.